This powerful article by Tim Muehloff of Biola University, provides Christians and Christian leaders a framework from which to build bridges against the often-heard allegations that, “Christians are intolerant.” Muehloff explores different meanings of intolerance. First of all is the one that most people seem to embrace-“Christians arrogantly think that because you have a corner on the truth you have nothing to learn from other religious leaders. You are intolerant of everybody’s view but your own!” The definition that Muehloff uses is one from Jewish rabbi Joshua Liebman who believes, “Tolerance is the posture and cordial effort to understand another’s beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them.”
Words matter and understanding what those words mean are vital for Christians to understand if we are going to have influence and relevance with a non-Christian world. If we want people to understand us, we should also seek to understand them. Asking questions can be a powerful tool towards building a rapport.
Civil and polite discussions are rare but they don’t have to be. As followers of Jesus, we should adopt John’s practice of placing grace before truth. Learning to wrap the truth of the Gospel in the amazing grace of Jesus will go a long way towards building bridges to reach those who are far from God.
Muehloff closes this excellent article with this: “All around us loud—and often violent—conversations are happening. Many are tempted to just avoid hard topics altogether. “I just don’t know how to start a difficult conversation,” is a common reply. Perhaps, an opening is created when we approach others with the realization that all words are in fact, riddles. Riddles that can be unpacked by asking, “Can you tell me what you mean by that?”
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